{"id":550128,"date":"2026-01-28T22:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/550128\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T22:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T22:21:15","slug":"lawsuit-supporters-protest-ahead-of-friday-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/550128\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit supporters protest ahead of Friday hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC) gathered in Center City near the President\u2019s House site Wednesday morning to rally for the return of placards and displays related to the location\u2019s ties to slavery that were taken down last week by National Park Service employees.<\/p>\n

The rally came two days before the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is scheduled to hear the city of Philadelphia\u2019s lawsuit objecting to the exhibition\u2019s removal<\/a>, filed against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Acting Director of the Park Service Jessica Bowron and both their respective agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the courts do the right thing from a legal standpoint, but \u2026 we\u2019re taking the page out of the civil rights struggle from the 1950s and \u201860s,\u201d said attorney and ATAC founder Michael Coard. \u201cThere\u2019s an activist strategy and there\u2019s a litigation strategy. We\u2019re pushing both.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Michael Coard, a founding member of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, speaks to protesters outside the Federal Courhouse at 7th and Market streets, where on Friday a hearing will be held about the removal of the President\u2019s House exhibition on slavery from Independence National Historical Park. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Coard spoke to the gathering outside the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse before the group walked to 6th and Market streets to the site where America\u2019s first \u201cWhite House\u201d stood<\/a> until 1832. A mobile billboard with messages about the President\u2019s House and the group followed the crowd down Market Street.<\/p>\n

The removed panels were part of The President\u2019s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation<\/a>, an exhibition installed in 2010. It detailed the lives of the nine enslaved people who George Washington brought to Philadelphia during his presidency and explored his personal involvement in slavery.<\/p>\n

\"\"About thirty demonstrators gather outside the Federal Courthouse at 7th and Market streets to protest the removal of the President\u2019s House exhibit about slavery from Independence National Historical Park. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Federal employees used crowbars and wrenches to remove the signage from the walls of the monument in less than two hours<\/a>. The signage \u2014 which was created and partially funded by the city and private donors \u2014 was placed to the side and eventually driven off in a pickup truck. Its storage location has not been shared.<\/p>\n

The action was apparently the fulfillment of a White House executive order calling for the removal of displays in U.S. national parks that \u201cdisparage\u201d the nation.<\/p>\n

Several park visitors opposed the removal as it occurred, and members of the public filled the empty frames with messages of protest<\/a> in the following days. Before the group disbanded Wednesday, many demonstrators taped their protest signs to the walls as well. One of them was Cherry Hill resident Barbara Patrizzi, whose sign read \u201cTell the truth. History has its eyes on you. Act with integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis country has to get real and recognize that our history includes some dark things as well as heroic things,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to recognize that, acknowledge it and do better, do better than we\u2019ve been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Barbara Patrizzi of Cherry Hill carries a sign outside the Federal Courthouse at 7th and Market streets with about 30 other demonstrators protesting the removal of the President\u2019s House exhibit about slavery from Independence National Historical Park. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

The exhibit\u2019s removal last Thursday caught the city, and those who had worked to make the exhibit a reality, by surprise.<\/p>\n

ATAC had a key role in ensuring that the story of the enslaved people was recognized and \u2014 along with historians, faith leaders and tour guides<\/a> \u2014 and had been protesting the impending move<\/a>. Coard said finding out was disappointing, but not surprising, and the group had been preparing for this outcome.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened last Thursday was poking the bear, and this bear was hibernating,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now we\u2019re up, we\u2019re roaring and we\u2019re going to do much more than we did in the beginning. It was a fight to win the battle in 2010. It\u2019s going to be a bigger fight to win it in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"About 30 protesters gather at the President\u2019s House site on Independence Mall, where an exhibition about slavery at the nation\u2019s first presidential residence was recently taken down. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

The city quickly filed a lawsuit after the exhibits were removed, claiming there was a 2006 agreement that required the National Park Service to consult with the city before making any changes to the exhibit. The city said that did not occur. Mayor Parker released a recorded speech<\/a> on Tuesday night outlining the city\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

ATAC has filed an amicus brief <\/a>supporting the city, as has Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> and others<\/a>. Coard said the group\u2019s goals go beyond just getting the displays returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re demanding, one, that we save the site. Two, that we enhance the site. And three, that we replicate the site all across the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Protestors march from the Federal Courthouse at 7th and Market streets to the site of the President\u2019s House exhibit a block away on Independence Mall. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

ATAC has also hosted multiple online town halls since the exhibition\u2019s removal. Radio station WURD broadcast the most recent one Tuesday night.\u00a0\u00a0
Many who gathered Wednesday said they plan to return for Friday\u2019s court hearing, including ATAC supporter Desiree Whitfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to pack out that courtroom,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an overflow, and the world is going to see: Don\u2019t come from Philadelphia if we didn\u2019t call you, number one. And number two, you cannot erase our history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Protesters taped signs to a wall at the President\u2019s House site on Independence Mall, where an exhibition about slavery at the nation\u2019s first presidential residence was recently taken down. (Emma Lee\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

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